Talk about the cultivation of coffee

1 What is coffee?

The word coffee comes from the Latin word Coffea(biological name) and is a member of the Rubiaceae family. These plants are woody plants, most of which are distributed in tropical areas, with more than 500 classifications and about 6000 varieties. Coffea plants are mostly tropical evergreen shrubs 5-6 meters high, but there are also trees that can grow to more than 10 meters tall. This plant is commonly known as the coffee tree. The clusters of red fruits (Coffee Cherry berries/cherries) produced by coffee trees are called "coffee cherries" and are shaped like cherries. The kernel (seed) of coffee fruit is the common coffee bean (raw bean).

Coffee trees are very particular about the environment in which they grow. Coffee trees like cool, most suitable for growth in soil covered with volcanic ash, in the need for proper rainfall at the same time, but also need good drainage, drought and flood on the growth of coffee trees have a fatal impact. Coffee trees have certain requirements for sunlight and water quality for irrigation. To obtain high-quality coffee beans, coffee trees must be planted with strict control of soil composition, rainfall and irrigation, sunshine hours and ambient temperature.

The higher the elevation of the coffee tree growing area (usually above 1000 meters above sea level), the higher the value of the coffee beans produced. The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature, and the slower the coffee grows. As fruit matures longer, more elements accumulate as it grows. The coffee beans produced in this environment are small and full, and the coffee is rich in aroma and unique in taste. However, coffee trees grown in this environment have few fruits. Each coffee tree usually produces less than 2 kilograms of coffee fruit per year. After processing and roasting, coffee beans are about 450 grams, which can be made into about 40 cups of coffee drinks.

With the increasing demand for coffee, artificial cultivation of coffee trees has become an important economic activity in coffee producing areas. The improvement of variety and planting technology also makes the growth of coffee trees have a relatively wide range of adaptation environments.

A coffee tree usually takes five years from planting to its first harvest. Wild coffee trees usually have a height of about 10 meters, while in artificial cultivation, coffee trees need to be pruned when they grow to a height of about 3 meters in order to harvest fruit later. After the coffee tree fruit ripens, it generally goes through at least 17 steps such as picking, drying, roasting, and processing to deliver the prepared delicious coffee to the consumer's mouth.

The taste characteristics of coffee beans are closely related to the type of coffee tree. At present, coffee beans widely used in beverage production in the world mainly include Arabica and Robsusta coffee beans.